The Office of International Affairs has received confirmation from the Office of Academic Affairs that the recommendation to suspend undergraduate programming in Turkey has been approved. This recommendation, made by the Ohio State International Travel Policy Committee (ITPC), was based on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

Consecutive reissuance of the U.S. Department of State Travel Warning with increasing concern for security in Turkey

Similar changes in the language by other international government travel advisory services – e.g. UK Foreign Commonwealth Office

The decision by other benchmark universities who are suspending undergraduate travel to Turkey

An increase in the risk rating from our security evacuation provider

The suspension of undergraduate travel to Turkey affects two upcoming programs: Crossroads of East and West (College of Arts and Sciences) and Engineering of Ancient Greece (College of Engineering). These programs are scheduled for May 13-June 4, 2016 and May 18-31, 2016, respectively. The Office of International Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering remain committed to moving forward with the programs and adjusting both itineraries to remove travel to Turkey. Both programs will now take place solely in Greece. Original program dates will not be altered and program fees will remain the same.

This decision only impacts undergraduate travel. Graduate students can still petition the ITPC to travel to Turkey and faculty can proceed as normal. The university remains committed to resuming undergraduate travel to Turkey when the security context improves. The decision will be reviewed in late summer/early fall, to determine if undergraduate programs scheduled in Turkey can resume for summer 2017. While we realize this change impacts the scheduled itineraries of our study abroad programming, the safety of our travelers is always a primary concern.